REVIEW: ‘This Adventure Ends’ by Emma Mills

This is a story about finding the kind of love you never knew you needed in your life. Emma Mills perfectly captures the beauty of friendship and family through This Adventure Ends. This book will wrap every emotion around you, from laughing to crying!

The blurb:

Sloane isn’t expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida – especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that’s exactly what happens.

Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera’s twin brother and the most serious person Sloane’s ever met. When a beloved painting by the twins’ late mother goes missing, Sloane takes on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her across state lines – and ever deeper in the twins’ lives.

Filled with intense and important friendships, a wonderful wants-and-all family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you needed.

Our main character, Sloane, is sarcastic and hilarious which made me immediately fall in love with her. We meet her, along with Vera and Gabe, while they are attending a house party. Somehow Sloane ends up stepping in to help Gabe when he is getting bullied. That is the beginning of how these beautiful friendships came to be.

Sloane is a bit of a loner. Her family just moved from New York to Florida, so she still hasn’t allowed herself to get comfortable in her surroundings besides at home. I loved the importance of family throughout this book. Sloane’s home life is so realistic that you’ll feel right at home with them. Her relationship with her father was one of my favorites of the book, especially when it came to their sarcastic banter.

Sloane finds herself slowly becoming friends with the twins and a few other people. I enjoyed all of the characters! Vera is one of the twins and she is the complete opposite of Sloane. Vera is confident and isn’t afraid to show how much she cares for the people in her life. There’s also Remy, Frank, and Aubrey who are all just as great.

Then there’s Gabe, who I absolutely loved. Gabe is more hesitant when it comes to befriending Sloane, which makes all of their encounters awkward and adorable in the beginning. I’m not going to spoil too much of the romance throughout this story, but I will say that it’s adorable in every way! It’s developed in a natural way fitting to both of these characters, and I appreciated that.

As the story progresses, we learn more about the characters’ pasts and see how it deepens the love between all of them. Vera and Gabe’s past reveals more about their mother and the painting that sends Sloane on an adventure. It’s not an adventure full of craziness but a personal one. It reveals truths behind her true intentions for finding this painting. I really enjoyed seeing how well Sloane develops by the end of this story.

I have a soft spot in my heart for coming-of-age stories. It’s always inspiring to see how a lost soul can find their way back to themselves through the things/people they surround themselves around. Emma Mills perfectly captures that feeling through her writing. All of her characters always have their own voice shining from the pages. There is a deeper meaning behind every conversation and interaction that you can’t help but appreciate Mills for it.

The story wraps up in a beautiful way, and I loved it. There are complex characters, a great family dynamic, and a swoony well-developed romance. It is a light read, but that doesn’t mean there was no meaning behind this story. I hope when others read this book they find a bit of themselves, and see their own friendships through these characters. This book will reveal how important it is to show the ones we care about that we love them.

I would recommend This Adventure Ends to anyone who enjoys contemporaries! Make sure to grab your copy on October 4th!